St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-06-06
The Exercises of Commencement Week
at the University We're Begun Yes
terday Morning,
Nhen President Bridgenlan Preached an
Able Baccalaureate Sermon Before
the Senior Class.
A Thoughtful Address Full of Pretty
Sound Doctrine and Good Advice to
the Graduates,
Which They Are Advised to Fake to
Heart as They Go Out Into the
World.

ciSeS yesterday morning. AT 1880 the
senior class, composed of Misses Laura
Knott and Hattie Garyin, Messrs. j. c.
Marshall. Z. A. Carroll and E. III.
Greedy, filed into the chapel and oecu-
pied seats to the right of the stage,
which was in front covered by a pyra-
mid of towering plants. Upon the stage
were DR.. q. ii. Bridgman, DIR. Cyrus
Brooks and Rev. L. r. Lathrop, of
WOrthington. Services were opened by
an anthem, 1t Is Good Thing to Give
Thanks by the choir. DIR. Brooks of
fered prayer and Rev. E. Il. Lathrop
read the first chapter of the First Epistle
of John. President Bridgman spoke
from the text: BLESSED are the pure
in heart for they shall see God" Matt.
v. s. He said:
There are obstacles many and great in
the way of seeing God. Literally, of
course, we cannot see Him. How could
an immaterial and an omnipreSent Be
ing-OGe who IS pure in spirit and whose
temple is ali space. be unfolded to NOR
tai eyes? Nor do the higher faculties of
the soul readily take cognizance of
Deity. Men have attempted elaborate
demonstrations of Gods existence: have
written largely and ably His various at
tributes. and have no disposition at all
TO diSpaTage these efforts Yet we do
knowledge of Him. And feeling and
fancy are equally feeble-they do not
unfold Him. ! do not say that mans
unaided powers can take in no ray of
light from the Divine Sun. but that to
anything worthy the name of seeing
God those powers are altogether un-
equal. Such being the necessary result
of the worlds intellectual death, what.
it is natural TO inquire, has been the
tendency OF its intellectual life when
men have awakened and come to reflect
and reason and theorize? Have they
then, 'by searching, found God?'
The answer still is No" The first de-
velopmentS of thought were in the far
East. India, China, Persia and Arabia
have all had their PHILOSOPHERS, not
feeble in their efforts and not fruitleSS
in results, but in so far as they touched
upon God, little better than weakness
and darkness and error. A still more
practical and interesting point is the re-
lation of thought in our own day to the
ObSuring or discovering of the Divine
Being. That mems minds have lately
been aroused to still more vigorous
and fruitful activity than ever before
cannot be denied. The sciences of mat
ter and mind are alike pressed to-day
for every secret they contain. And til
not ont of place here to ask what glory
Is accrulng TO God for all this? As with
eyes rendered far-Seeing and keen by
art we explore the mysteries of the ma
terial universe, are the invisible things
of Him from the creation of the world
clearly seen? Yes, if God be only an
other expression
FOR INFLEXIBLE LAW.
But if God be the Father of all. one
to whom you and / can look up and say:
MY Father. my Lord, my God" then
to this question we answer no. The
Savior, so pure Himself, has not prom
ised paltry reward. He did not say
blessed and then promise no bless
ing. What would be the idea conveyed
to a jew by words like these? Would
he not say: ''See Godl Why that is
just what we want. That was the honor
and blessing put in various forms and
degrees upon the fathers and prOhetS of
our nation" To Abraham God more
than once appeared-he was the friend
OF God. One great source of our sad
ness i'll these days of degeneracy is that
we 10 longer see God as cur fathers saw
Him. He has wrapped clouds
about Him and hid from us. We
prize as, a sacred heirloom our
holy books because in them we
may yet catch glimpSeS of the Deity.
WHAT did Christ mean by this express
sion? You Will say the language is
hguralve. Yes, but that does not eX-
plain 1t and does not deprive it of mean
ing. A figure with Christ meant very
much what the same figure would mean
with us. The idea is this The sense
of sight is one of the great channels by
which knowledge of external objects
reaches the soul. And as language is
always very far behind thought, we
convey those higher ideas for which we
have no direct expression in the Ian
guage of something lower. Hence it is
that God Is so constantly represented as
seeing and beholding, because by that is
best expressed His intimate acquaint-
ance. Well, now, is it not just reason
ing from the less tO-the greater to argue
up from this t0the value of an increased
knowledge of God? We all stand in
many and important relations to God.
And ii concerning the callings from
which we expect to derive our living we
feel it incumbent upon us to know all
we can, what shall we say respecting a
knowledge of Him whom we must de-
rive every good in life. Is: it not to our
interests to know those great inherent
principles of His nature in accordance
with which He works? As dependent
upon Him it is to our interest to know
Him. Day by day we draw nearer to
God. Condemned criminals we come to
ask for pardon. Now shall we come
whom having we know?" A benighted
worShiper anywhere is mournful
sight, an enlightened one is scene of
beauty and of joy.
But though this be much, l believe
Christ meant much more than this by
these words. Eastern monarchs, you
know, had the habit of keeping
themselves secluded from the eyes Of
their subjects. A few, however, there
always were whom they admitted to
their presence. These favoriteS were
often subjects of envy to others. Now
/ think there is reference to this Gus
tom in the text. God is king, and as
such He holds those who dwell in His
presence as others do not. But between
God and those earthly monarchs there
is this difference = while they were
guided in their choice by caprice, he
selects by principle and according to
merit. A knowledge of God is one
thing,
AN INTIMATE ACQUAINTANCE
with him is quite another. To see God
as you OF might see majesty is one
thing, to see God as you or may see
our intimate friends is quite another
Now something analogous to this latter
is evidently meant. That, know, may
appear very bold statement, yet, with
this Bible as our authority, we dare say
nothing less, for if any sense is to be
gathered from many of its expressions
they mean that God and man are de-
signed to be brought near to each other.
They mean that he is designed to be
brought near to our hearts. But what
IS the connection between purity of
heart and these great ends? Are they
its results, or rewards, or both? Doubt
less both, for that is usually Gods
method, both in nature and in grace.
He makes his rewards and penalties to
flow from the necessary working of a
great SYSTEM. which he has esta hliShad